


Inseparable

by ImaginedRain



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Chara Has Their Own Body, Fantastic Racism, Kidnapping, No Genocide Route, Non-Binary Chara, Non-Binary Frisk, Nonbinary Chara and Frisk, Other, Past Child Abuse, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Soft Chara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 02:19:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9413570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginedRain/pseuds/ImaginedRain
Summary: "When you find yourself with an unexpected guest in your head the two of you have a few options."Surviving the fall was a surprise, so was waking up with someone in their head.Frisk and Chara get to know each other while travelling through the underground. But what about when they get out? Will humanity really be fine with monsters not being a fairytale?





	

When you find yourself with an unexpected guest in your head the two of you have a few options.

 

You could be bitter and paranoid, trying in vain to hide away every thought and emotion until you either find a way to get rid of the other person or realise you're stuck with someone you've made into an enemy.

 

Or maybe accept that you've possibly just gone insane. But considering everything else that was going on – monsters, magic, witnessing your own soul leaving your body, to name a few – having a mental passenger might not be that strange.

 

But there is also the option to embrace each other fully. Accept every quirk and flaw as a whole of the other person, and now a part of you. That isn't something that would happen over night of course, just like every other relationship, building this level of trust would take time and there would be plenty of bumps in the road.

 

Their first big breakthrough happened when Frisk died for the first time. After loading and somewhat calming themselves down after the shock and trauma of being impaled until they were _dead_ , they realised couldn't hear or feel Chara at all, and for a few terrifying minutes Frisk thought they were gone for good. They might not have wanted them in their head at first but now the lack of a pun or quip or slightest hint of their presence about their surroundings was almost suffocating.

 

They searched inside themself, trying to find any trace of their friend, hardly daring to breathe until they felt something small deep, deep in their mind; or maybe it was their soul? This was the first time they had properly felt Chara's emotions, having done their best to respect their privacy before now, but what they felt was almost enough to make them pull away again. Chara was like a condensed ball of pain, fear and strangely shame. They tried to get their attention but every time they prodded at them all they got was confusing and painful flashes of visions and sensations–bleeding blisters on their hands and in their mouth–bitterness mixing with blood on their tongue–vomiting until there was nothing left and it felt like their body was trying to turn itself inside out–the feeling of life being ripped out of a body that wasn't their own.

 

No matter what they did they couldn't get through to Chara and eventually resigned themselves to simply sit and wait, chewing their fingernails ragged while they worried. Some time later – Frisk didn't know how long but long enough that they'd moved on from biting their nails to their actual fingers – Chara finally spoke up, sounding exhausted.

 

“ _That's gross.”_ There was no real heat behind the words but Frisk still startled and jerked their hand from their mouth like it had burned them.

 

“ _Chara! Are you ok?”_ After a few seconds of no reply they heard Chara laugh humorlessly.

 

“ _I should be asking you that. You're the one who died, remember?”_ They sounded tired.

 

Frisk shuddered. _“I'm trying not to think about it.”_ Silence stretched between them, Chara seemed lost in thought and Frisk was still worried.

 

“ _Chara, can I ask you? When you... I saw some things and I was just wondering what... What happened to you?”_

 

“ _Of course I had to get stuck in the head of someone who can't mind their own business.”_ They snapped.

 

Frisk recoiled as if physically struck. _“Sorry, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked, I-I don't need to know-”_

 

“ _Frisk,”_ Chara interrupted. _“Stop. Calm down, I'm not angry at you.”_ Frisk hesitated and Chara could feel their doubt clear as day, but their rising panic was calming. Chara's sigh made Frisk jump slightly.

 

“ _I might as well tell you, actually.”_ They said reluctantly. _“Since we're heading to the castle you'll probably hear some version of it anyway, so I might as well tell you what really happened. I'll have to start at the beginning though, so you should probably get comfortable._

 

Frisk said nothing, but forced their muscles to relax and shifted into a more comfortable position, crossing their legs and leaning on the wall, and waited patently while Chara gathered their thoughts. The sound of rushing water sounded somewhere in the distance.

 

“ _I got to the underground the same way as you but there was no grass or flowers or soft earth then to break my fall, only solid rock, and I was too weak and injured to stand. I think I must have yelled, or maybe I screamed, I don't remember but someone came._

 

“ _Asriel, the King and Queens son. He helped me to his home, where the Queen healed the worst of my injuries and the King made me tea. They were all so kind and welcoming to someone who had literally just been dropped into their lives, they took me in without hesitation.”_ They paused. “ _I didn't trust them at all.”_

 

Frisk thought they felt a bit of shame seeping through whatever their bond was.

 

“ _If I could I would have tried to leave, but apparently healing works differently on monsters and humans. The Queen had healed all my wounds and bruises, but it turns out knitting bones together isn't something monsters have to worry about. So I was stuck with my leg in a cast, unable to even stand and having to rely on these strangers to keep me alive for over three months.”_ A bitter laugh. _“At first I was absolutely terrified. I didn't understand what they wanted from me, and I couldn't figure out a reason for why they were helping me._

 

“ _That's the difference between monsters and humans Frisk, monsters don't need a reason to want to help, they just do.”_

 

Frisk wanted to argue that not all humans were bad but sensed that this wouldn't be the best time. Besides, they really wanted to hear the end of the story.

 

“ _Asriel and I eventually became friends, siblings even, when the Dreemurs decided to formally adopt me. It was... strange but nice, having a real family._

 

“ _Eventually I messed it up of course. Asriel and I wanted to surprise Asgore with a butterscotch cinnamon pie, but I stupidly suggested we use buttercups instead of cups of butter for the recipe. It was supposed to be a joke and we ended up making him really sick.”_ They paused and Frisk could feel their sadness. Apparently it was a lot harder to hide their feelings when they in direct conversation.

 

“ _Frisk, do you remember what those signs said about how a monster can absorb a human soul and become terrifyingly powerful?”_

 

“ _Oh, uhm, y-yes.”_ They stuttered, the sudden change in subject startling them.

 

“ _I read about that a few weeks after the incident with the pie, and it and the buttercups gave me an idea for how to make it up to the Dreemurrs. If I died, Asriel could absorb my soul, cross the barrier, collect six other human souls, and break the barrier. He wasn't too keen on it in the beginning but the prospect of being the hero of the underground won him over. He always worried about not being a good enough to be ruler.”_ They trailed off, their voice wistful.

 

“ _Chara?”_ Frisk asked.

 

“ _Hm? Yes?”_

 

“ _Are you okay? You're acting very casual about this but...”_ Frisk trailed off as well, not quite sure how to voice their concern.

 

Chara made a sound like they were clearing their throat. _“Yes, I'm fine. It was a long time ago.”_

 

“ _Yeah, but if you just woke up when I fell wouldn't it be like-”_

 

“ _Do you want to hear the story or not?”_ Chara interrupted them. Frisk shifted uncomfortably but said nothing. _“Alright then. I decided that eating buttercups would be the easiest way to do it, but I didn't know how... painful a death by poison would be. I thought that since the small amount of flowers we put in the pie made Asgore so sick, if I ate many times that amount I would die pretty quickly. In the end I don't know how long it took, but I know it was several days._

 

“ _I don't think I was conscious for most of it and all I can really remember is pain and a few hazy memories. Mostly Asgore telling me to hang on and stay determined, or Asriel crying, or Toriel trying in vain to heal me. She never did quite figure out how to heal a human body.”_

 

“ _Toriel was the queen?”_ Frisk asked, surprised.

 

“ _Yes, I don't know why she moved to the ruins but I assume it has something to do with Asgore now killing any human that falls into the underground. She didn't seem very pleased with that._

 

“ _After Asriel had absorbed my soul and our minds combined I picked up my body and brought it with us to the surface. In hindsight that wasn't the best idea, but honestly I wasn't exactly in the best mindset after experiencing that kind of death. And I wanted the humans to know who was coming for them, that they brought it on themselves._

 

“ _It... didn't go well. The humans reacted like I knew they would and attacked us, but Asriel... Even when we'd been mortally wounded he refused to fight back, He took us back through the barrier and then... we died. I wish I could say I'm not upset with him for that but...”_

 

“ _That's why you reacted like that earlier. When I died you were reliving it.”_

 

Chara laughed softly. _“So to speak.”_

 

“ _I'm sorry.”_

 

They seemed to be done with the story but Frisk hesitated with asking the question that burned in their mind.

 

“ _Out with it Frisk, I can feel your curiosity like a bonfire”_ Chara made the decision for them.

 

“ _I was just wondering, you never said how you ended up here. In the underground.”_

 

“ _No, I didn't.”_

 

“ _R-Right. Sorry, I-”_

 

“ _I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”_

 

“ _What?”_

 

“ _Your story.”_ Chara explained. _“Your reason for being here.”_

 

“ _Oh.”_

 

“ _Yeah. So? How about it?”_

 

“ _I... Let me think a little.”_ Frisk felt their mental shrug.

 

“ _Whatever, it's not like I'm going anywhere.”_

 

On one hand they knew it was only fair to give the same as they were asking and Chara had obviously experienced some pretty horrible things. On the other though, they really didn't want to talk about their life from before.

 

But despite having been together literally every waking moment since waking up on that patch of flowers however long ago that was, this was the longest conversation they'd had together and Frisk didn't want it to end yet. And maybe it would be good to talk about their past? Don't people always say that? They weren't really sure if they believed it but judging by some of the things Chara had said they had a feeling they might understand what they'd gone through. And what if Chara needed to talk about it? They were really good at talking, they never stuttered or had awkward stops like Frisk did, and while they couldn't technically hear their voice they had a way of sounding so strong and soothing at the same time. They realized their mind was wandering down unhelpful paths and quickly made their decision before they could regret it.

 

“ _Okay.”_ Feeling Chara startle in their mind was weird but Frisk felt a smile tugging at their lips and didn't bother trying to hide their amusement.

 

They made a _hmph_ sound. _“Are you gonna start talking or just laugh at me?”_

 

Their mirth wilted. _“I'm not really sure where to start.”_

 

“ _Alright, how did you fall?”_

 

“ _There was a storm. I was just looking for shelter, but it was too dark and I didn't see where I was going.”_ They stopped and were relieved when Chara kept asking.

 

“ _Why were you out in the storm?”_

 

“ _I was trying to get further south. It was getting too cold and I don't have a jacket.”_

 

They could feel Chara's surprise. _“Were you living outside?”_

 

“ _Yes. I... I ran away from home. Last spring.”_

 

“ _Why?”_

 

There was a lump in their throat and it was getting more difficult to breathe.

 

“ _Frisk?”_

 

“ _My parents were... I don't think they liked me much.”_

 

They were both silent for a moment.

 

“ _Did they hurt you?”_ Chara asked quietly. Frisk swallowed thickly and nodded.

 

“ _Dad did. Mom would mostly just lock me in the closet when she didn't want to deal with me.”_ Chara refrained from pointing out that not all hurts were physical. _“Sometimes she'd forget and dad would let me out when he got home from work or... wherever he'd go, I'm not sure. If he found me in the closet when he got home he'd know mom was upset with me and... At least they loved each other, I guess.”_

 

Frisk stopped talking but they were upset enough they lost their grip on their memories and Chara got flashes of what was going through their mind. – Going days at a time without saying a word so they wouldn't disturb mommy – sneaking food from the kitchen because their parents had forgotten to feed them again, or maybe they hadn't? – daddy finding them in the closet again and beating them for having upset his wife, or because he was in a bad mood, or just because he wanted to – mommy having one of her hysterics and screaming at them “Why couldn't I just have gotten a girl? Little girls aren't like this! Why did I have to get you?!” – trying to be a girl for mommy but when daddy found out he was so mad they couldn't walk without limping for almost a month – the way daddy had looked at them that had scared them more than almost anything. The same way he sometimes looked at mommy before they both disappeared into their bedroom. Frisk wasn't stupid, they knew they had to get out before–

 

Chara shivered, Frisk was shaking. _“No one noticed?”_

 

“ _Once. My teacher. When my mom found out that he was suspicious they took me out of school. Said they were going to homeschool me. It was a lie.”_

 

“ _So that's why you can't read.”_

 

“ _I can too!”_ Frisk's sudden outburst surprised Chara, Frisk noticed. _“I'm s-sorry. I didn't- I mean-”_

 

“ _Never apologize for standing up for yourself, Frisk. Not to me, not to anyone, alright?”_

 

For a moment Frisk was speechless.

 

“ _I... Yeah, um, maybe?”_

 

Chara belatedly realized that asking someone who had been forced down all their life to not feel guilty about standing up for themself might not be very realistic.

 

“ _Never mind Frisk, we can work on it.”_

 

“ _We?”_

 

“ _Like I said before, It's not like I'm going anywhere.”_

 

“ _I'm sorry, being stuck in my head probably isn't great.”_

 

Chara gave the impression of a shrug. _“I'm starting to not mind so much.”_

 

Frisk didn't say anything but Chara felt a wave of gratefulness from them and their shaking had subsided. They really couldn't help but admire how strong this kid was.

 

“ _So, if you can read why am I reading all the signs for you?”_ They quickly changed the subject.

 

They couldn't see it but they felt the blush sneaking up the back of Frisk's neck. _“I can, just- just not very well. And I... I like your voice.”_

 

“ _O-... Oh.”_ If Chara could blush they would be glowing. _“I'll just -_ ahem _\- I'll just keep doing that then.”_

 

Frisk smiled, doing their best to direct it inwards. _“Thanks, Chara.”_

 

Chara's smile felt like sunlight. _“You're such a dork, Frisk.”_

 

“ _Yup!”_ They giggled a bit. _“How long has it been since I fell, do you know?”_

 

Chara had to think for a moment. _“I think about two and a half weeks, but it's hard to tell time down here. I have no idea how monsters keep track. Why do you ask?”_

 

Frisk shrugged a shoulder and leaned more heavily against the wall, just now realizing how tired they were, or maybe just letting themself feel it. _“Just wondering why we haven't really talked. Before now.”_

 

“ _Ah.”_ For a short while that was all they said and the two sat in silence. _“When I first woke up I was so confused. The plan had failed, right? We died. It took me a long time to come to terms with what had happened and come back to myself again. You helped a lot with that actually.”_

 

“ _What? Me?”_ Frisk asked, shocked.

 

“ _Yes, you.”_ There was laughter in their voice. _“My... Experiences with humans hasn't exactly been a positive one, and finding out I was stuck, attached to the soul of one terrified me at first. But when you failed every expectation I had of you, you peaked my curiosity. And when you continued to show mercy to every monster no matter if they hurt you or how much they scared you I started getting irritated. All humans are selfish and greedy, so why weren't you? I was just waiting for you to show your true colours.”_ They sighed again. _“And to be honest, I was a bit jealous you got to spend time with Toriel and I could only watch.”_

 

“ _And now?”_ Frisk asked in a small voice, nervously fidgeting with their sleeves.

 

Chara sighed heavily. _“Now I think I might have been wrong about you, and I kind of understand why you panicked when Toriel wouldn't let you leave. And why you didn't seem surprised when she attacked you.”_

 

“ _I'm sorry.”_ Frisk said suddenly.

 

“ _For what?”_

 

“ _I didn't know. Who she was to you. I should have stayed.”_

 

“ _You didn't know because I didn't tell you. But anyway, I had my reasons for staying quiet for so long, even if they weren't very good.”_

 

“ _Yeah. I'm happy we're talking now though.” Frisk yawned, their eyes felt too heavy and it was very tempting to take a nap._

 

“ _Frisk, we're in waterfall.”_

 

“ _Um, yes?”_

 

“ _It's cold and wet.”_

 

“ _I guess..”_

 

“ _Don't fall asleep here, you'll get sick.”_ Chara insisted. _“Ask the riverperson to take you back to Snowdin.”_

 

“ _I've slept in worse places.”_ Frisk said but stood up anyway. They stretched, working the kinks out of their body before walking away from where they had previously faced Undyne. They wouldn't fight her or try to hurt her but they felt satisfied with knowing she would probably be waiting around up on that rock until they got there.

 

“ _Yeah, you sure got your revenge there Frisk.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry Chara will be telling their origin story in the next chapter ;) 
> 
> The first few chapters of this are actually gonna be the result of the intro spiraling out of control. Originally the first chapter was gonna just be a bit of backstory and an intro to how everyone's doing on the surface buuuuuuut that obviously didn't happen xD


End file.
